Sermon Shepherds Luke 2 12-10-06
Merry Christmas safe zone……….you can say Merry Christmas anytime and it is ok
You know the story. Shepherds in the field, Angel appears with announcement, angels appear w song…..they go to the manger….they become the first evangelists
It is interesting that They are included in the story
Who were they?
1
Shepherds did not enjoy high social standing in the ancient Middle East. Most regarded them as untrustworthy outcasts who could not be trusted.
1
Shepherds were men whose vocation had become despised by the people of their day, men who were not regarded as members of the synagogues because their workkept them busy in the fields when others could gather for prayer They could not ignore the sheep on every Sabbath, or every Holy Day; their livelihood kept them outdoors with dirty stupid animals who could not be abandoned for even an hour.
1
Does anything glamorous and wonderful come to mind when you think of a shepherd? Not really. It’s not like a doctor who saves lives, or a rich president of a big company who makes lots of important decisions. A shepherd is just someone who watches sheep. If one of the sheep gets hurt or wanders from the flock, the shepherd’s job is to bring them back. It’s not the kind of job you dream about when you’re a kid!
2
Angels are clean. Angels are beautiful. In a Christmas play, little girls get to wear angelic satin. Shepherds would work with sheep all day, sleep outside with the animals at night and then come into town dirty, sweaty and smelly. Like boys. Tradesmen in the marketplace would be polite enough. Shopkeepers would wait on them, but everybody was happy when they moved along. Burlap fits the part. It really does.Angels get clouds and the Hallelujah Chorus for props. Shepherds get a stable. Conjure up the smells and the filth. No stainless steel dairy palace this, but a crude barn, with good reason for straw on the floor. Not exactly the setting you'd choose for a birth if you had the luxury of planning ahead. ...Angels seem appropriate to the birth of God's son. But straw and sweat and burlap do not. Why, I ask, would the Son of God Most High enter life amidst the rubble of human existence, at the lowest rung of society, in obscurity and at the stable-edge of rejection even before he is born?And as hard as I think about it, I come back to one truth. God wanted to make it explicitly clear that He came to save each of us. He comes to the slimy, dark corners of our existence, the desperateness, the loneliness, the rejection, the pain. He comes to unswept barns and cold nights of despair. He comes because he understands them. He knows them intimately and came for the very purpose of delivering us from those raw stables to real Life.
Who are the shepherds of today…not us.we are among the most blessed
Most of us tend to think about our comfort and our joys
I wonder if we even see the sheperds of today or if they are invisible to us
I have a friend who has written about the sins of the wallet
Who are the shepherds of today?
Do you know of people that no one wants to run with?
The haves or the have nots-the have nots
Illegal immigrants
Maybe your undesirables are not the poor but the wealthy………. ,
How many of you were cheer leaders, popular in high school? I was not…are you sure that you want to hang around with me?
Are you helping the poor? Hanging with the poor?
Do you simply hang with those who you love?
Is some part of your life dedicated to bringing good news to the poor?
Jesus hung with undesirables
Luke 7:3 3For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. 34The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
The birth of Jesus brings the rich and the poor together
What are you doing to help the least of these
it is hard to change completely, it is hard to change overnight, It is just plain hard to change….but if we challenge our life choices and begin to think a little harder, maybe we can begin to see that everyone is included in the Christmas story.
Just imagine that the world is a village of 100 inhabitants, the world would be made up of:
57 asians 21 europeans 14 americans (south and north) 8 africans
There would be 52 females 48 males
70 would not be white 30 would be white
6 people would possess 59% of the wealth of the world 6 people would originate from the USA 70 would not be able to read or write 80 would not own a home
50 would be dependant on others to live 1 would have a computer 1 would hold a degree
If you woke up this morning and you are not ill, then you are better off than 1 million people who will die in the coming days.
If you have something to eat in your fridge, wearing clothes, have a roof over your head and a bed in which to sleep, then you are better off than 75% of the world's population.
If you have a bank account, or change in your pocket, then you belong to the 8% of the richest people in the world.
If you can go to church without fear of threat, being arrested or killed, then you are better off than 3 billion people on this planet.
I have a friend who has shared what she calls - Sins of the Wallet
> If you want to know where a person's priorities are -- look where they> spend their money.
> when I noticed that my monthly car payment was more than I gave to the church, it still too four years for me to change that.
I believe it to be a sin to live in the type of home I live in.
A while back we were collecting money for Heifer and I was very quick to write a donation - a big check of $50. Then, the next week I turned around and got my hair cut and highlighted and wrote a check for $100. (Shameful).
> We cant just take care of ourselves and then give what's left to grow the> church and help the poor and needy ... we lavish ourselves, we spoil> ourselves, we tell ourselves we need the best cars, the biggest homes, the> nicest clothing (and lots of if), and the grandest vacations. Then, we> watch the news and see that children are starving to death, entire> families are dying of aids, there is a present day genocide occurring in the Sudan, and we sit at our dinner tables and say "gee, that's too bad", and then retire to our leather furniture, watching our big screen television and drinking our $5 starbucks coffees.
> Jeff, I truly believe that if American slowed down, lived more simply,gave more to those in need, we would be a stronger, more joyful, more fulfilled nation of people.
- I am a faithful christian who believes this lifestyle to be a sin -- and yet sadly, I cannot stop myself from wanting more - bigger home, nicer furniture, fuller closet ... It is my hope that my faith will give me strength to be a more generous person and> that I will trust in what I know to be true - giving is truly a joyful thing.
Merry Christmas safe zone……….you can say Merry Christmas anytime and it is ok
You know the story. Shepherds in the field, Angel appears with announcement, angels appear w song…..they go to the manger….they become the first evangelists
It is interesting that They are included in the story
Who were they?
1
Shepherds did not enjoy high social standing in the ancient Middle East. Most regarded them as untrustworthy outcasts who could not be trusted.
1
Shepherds were men whose vocation had become despised by the people of their day, men who were not regarded as members of the synagogues because their workkept them busy in the fields when others could gather for prayer They could not ignore the sheep on every Sabbath, or every Holy Day; their livelihood kept them outdoors with dirty stupid animals who could not be abandoned for even an hour.
1
Does anything glamorous and wonderful come to mind when you think of a shepherd? Not really. It’s not like a doctor who saves lives, or a rich president of a big company who makes lots of important decisions. A shepherd is just someone who watches sheep. If one of the sheep gets hurt or wanders from the flock, the shepherd’s job is to bring them back. It’s not the kind of job you dream about when you’re a kid!
2
Angels are clean. Angels are beautiful. In a Christmas play, little girls get to wear angelic satin. Shepherds would work with sheep all day, sleep outside with the animals at night and then come into town dirty, sweaty and smelly. Like boys. Tradesmen in the marketplace would be polite enough. Shopkeepers would wait on them, but everybody was happy when they moved along. Burlap fits the part. It really does.Angels get clouds and the Hallelujah Chorus for props. Shepherds get a stable. Conjure up the smells and the filth. No stainless steel dairy palace this, but a crude barn, with good reason for straw on the floor. Not exactly the setting you'd choose for a birth if you had the luxury of planning ahead. ...Angels seem appropriate to the birth of God's son. But straw and sweat and burlap do not. Why, I ask, would the Son of God Most High enter life amidst the rubble of human existence, at the lowest rung of society, in obscurity and at the stable-edge of rejection even before he is born?And as hard as I think about it, I come back to one truth. God wanted to make it explicitly clear that He came to save each of us. He comes to the slimy, dark corners of our existence, the desperateness, the loneliness, the rejection, the pain. He comes to unswept barns and cold nights of despair. He comes because he understands them. He knows them intimately and came for the very purpose of delivering us from those raw stables to real Life.
Who are the shepherds of today…not us.we are among the most blessed
Most of us tend to think about our comfort and our joys
I wonder if we even see the sheperds of today or if they are invisible to us
I have a friend who has written about the sins of the wallet
Who are the shepherds of today?
Do you know of people that no one wants to run with?
The haves or the have nots-the have nots
Illegal immigrants
Maybe your undesirables are not the poor but the wealthy………. ,
How many of you were cheer leaders, popular in high school? I was not…are you sure that you want to hang around with me?
Are you helping the poor? Hanging with the poor?
Do you simply hang with those who you love?
Is some part of your life dedicated to bringing good news to the poor?
Jesus hung with undesirables
Luke 7:3 3For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. 34The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
The birth of Jesus brings the rich and the poor together
What are you doing to help the least of these
it is hard to change completely, it is hard to change overnight, It is just plain hard to change….but if we challenge our life choices and begin to think a little harder, maybe we can begin to see that everyone is included in the Christmas story.
Just imagine that the world is a village of 100 inhabitants, the world would be made up of:
57 asians 21 europeans 14 americans (south and north) 8 africans
There would be 52 females 48 males
70 would not be white 30 would be white
6 people would possess 59% of the wealth of the world 6 people would originate from the USA 70 would not be able to read or write 80 would not own a home
50 would be dependant on others to live 1 would have a computer 1 would hold a degree
If you woke up this morning and you are not ill, then you are better off than 1 million people who will die in the coming days.
If you have something to eat in your fridge, wearing clothes, have a roof over your head and a bed in which to sleep, then you are better off than 75% of the world's population.
If you have a bank account, or change in your pocket, then you belong to the 8% of the richest people in the world.
If you can go to church without fear of threat, being arrested or killed, then you are better off than 3 billion people on this planet.
I have a friend who has shared what she calls - Sins of the Wallet
> If you want to know where a person's priorities are -- look where they> spend their money.
> when I noticed that my monthly car payment was more than I gave to the church, it still too four years for me to change that.
I believe it to be a sin to live in the type of home I live in.
A while back we were collecting money for Heifer and I was very quick to write a donation - a big check of $50. Then, the next week I turned around and got my hair cut and highlighted and wrote a check for $100. (Shameful).
> We cant just take care of ourselves and then give what's left to grow the> church and help the poor and needy ... we lavish ourselves, we spoil> ourselves, we tell ourselves we need the best cars, the biggest homes, the> nicest clothing (and lots of if), and the grandest vacations. Then, we> watch the news and see that children are starving to death, entire> families are dying of aids, there is a present day genocide occurring in the Sudan, and we sit at our dinner tables and say "gee, that's too bad", and then retire to our leather furniture, watching our big screen television and drinking our $5 starbucks coffees.
> Jeff, I truly believe that if American slowed down, lived more simply,gave more to those in need, we would be a stronger, more joyful, more fulfilled nation of people.
- I am a faithful christian who believes this lifestyle to be a sin -- and yet sadly, I cannot stop myself from wanting more - bigger home, nicer furniture, fuller closet ... It is my hope that my faith will give me strength to be a more generous person and> that I will trust in what I know to be true - giving is truly a joyful thing.
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